Animal Yoga

Designed by: Sarah Zurn

Lesson Plan Designer: Sarah Zurn Facilitator Name: Sarah Zurn

a. Lesson / Activity / Game Title: Animal Yoga

b. Audience and Facilitation Style: targeted at elementary school students, group

instruction with group discussion before and after the activity, will have around 8-10 kids
with their parents at a time, about 20 minutes

c. Lesson Goals: Participants will learn the benefits of yoga to their mental health as well as
some animal-themed poses that can help them take a break from their everyday lives
and de-stress.

d. Description of space needed / set up:

a. Will be held in the hallway outside the front office at Park Forest Middle School
(probably around 10’ x 40’)
b. The mats from the gym will be brought in to cover the floor to help prevent
people’s feet from sliding/slipping during the activity
i. We will have towels as a back-up for the gym mats if they end up being
too heavy/too difficult to move into the hallway

e. Description of equipment and supplies needed:

a. Gym mats from the gymnasium at the school OR 20-30 towels (will find out at our
second site visit, preferably gym mats)
b. Handouts for everyone with the names and pictures of the yoga poses to take
with them after the activity (will be created later)
c. Example pictures of the poses are included after the lesson plans

f. Participant outcome objectives:

Outcome Objective #1: After participating in animal yoga at our event on April 1 st, 70% of
the children will be able to remember at least three poses from the activity as measured
by the survey at the end of the event.
Outcome Objective #2: After participating in animal yoga at our event on April 1 st, 50% of
the children will be able to identify one way that yoga can relieve stress as measured by
the survey at the end of the event.

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g. Detailed lesson plans
a. Introduce yourself to the group once everyone is in the room
b. Explain that everyone will be participating in animal yoga
c. Ask if anyone has ever participated in yoga before
i. If some people raise their hands, ask if anyone would like to share how
they felt while/after doing yoga
ii. If no one raises their hands, ask if anyone knows what yoga is or has an
idea of what it is
d. Explain that yoga is a practice that focuses on bringing harmony between mind
and body
i. Can help you relieve stress, improve your mental and emotional health,
and improve your balance (Yoga: What You Need To Know)
e. Ask the kids about a time where they felt uncomfortable or stressed
i. Call on a few kids that raise their hands
ii. Explain that there are a lot of stressful things that can happen in people’s
lives, but yoga can be a strategy to deal with those things
f. Talk about your experience with yoga (if you have any)
i. I was introduced to yoga through my Wii when I was the same age as the
kids, and I loved being able to just stretch and breathe for a minute
ii. When I was a kid, I got stressed out when I had to talk to new people, and
yoga let me spend time with myself
g. Explain that we will be doing yoga based on some really cool animals
h. Ask everyone if they’re ready to try out some moves
i. They should say yes
i. Remind everyone to try to focus on their breathing throughout all the poses
j. Explain that we will be starting with the starfish pose
i. Stand up and spread your feet out wide
ii. Stretch your arms out to the sides so your hands end up at around the
same height as your head
iii. Hold for 30 seconds and try to feel the stretch the whole time
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Starfish do not have a brain or blood
b. Some species have more than 5 arms (some have 40)
c. They can regenerate (regrow) a limb if they lose it
k. Slowly lower your arms down to your sides, but keep your feet in the same
position
l. Move to the elephant pose
i. Keep your feet apart like for the starfish pose
ii. Stretch your arms up to the sky and then slowly move your hands to the
floor
iii. Place your palms on the floor
iv. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:

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 a. Elephants are the world’s largest land animal
b. African elephants have ears that are shaped like Africa,
while Asian elephants have ears that are shaped like India
c. Their tusks are enlarged incisor teeth (like what our front
teeth are)
m. Slowly stand back up and move your feet back to a normal standing position
n. Move to the crocodile pose
i. Slowly lay down on your stomach
ii. Lift the top half of your body off the floor with your arms and place your
palms on the floor directly under your shoulders
iii. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Crocodiles are the biggest reptile on the planet (can be
more than 23 feet long)
b. They have the strongest bite of any animal (10x stronger
than a great white shark)
c. The temperature of a crocodile egg can determine if the
baby is a boy or a girl (if the egg is 88.8°F it’ll be a boy, if it’s
higher or lower it’ll be a girl)
o. From there, slowly pull your palms off the floor and lay down on your stomach
p. Move to the narwhal pose
i. Lift your legs up and move your feet toward the back of your head
ii. Reach your hands behind you to grab your ankles
iii. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Narwhals’ tusks can grow up to 9 feet long and weigh more
than 22 pounds
b. Their tusks have nerves inside them and little holes on the
outside that help them detect changes in their
environment, like temperature changes or the saltiness of
the water
c. They normally weigh around 1.5 tons (3000 pounds)
q. Slowly move your arms and legs back down to the floor and then slowly sit in a
comfortable position
r. Move to the peacock pose
i. Sit with your legs spread apart
ii. Slowly move your arms up to the sky and back down for 30 seconds,
resting for a second when they get all the way up and all the way to the
floor
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Peacocks shed their feathers every year
b. Only males have the brightly colored feathers
c. They can fly, but only for short distances
s. Slowly return to a standing position

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t. Move to the dog pose (downward-facing dog)
i. Put your palms on the floor
ii. Adjust your feet and hands as needed and push your hips as far as you can
into the air
iii. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Dogs each have unique nose prints, like our finger prints
b. They have up to 300 million scent receptors, while we have
around 5 million
c. Your blood pressure goes down when you pet a dog, and
the dog’s does too
u. Slowly pull your hands off the floor and return to a standing position
v. Move to the macaw pose
i. Stand up and slowly lift one of your legs into the air and move your leg
behind you so that it is parallel to the floor
ii. Once you find your balance, move your arms behind you to match up with
the leg that is in the air (parallel to the floor)
iii. Hold for 30 seconds (or as long as you can)
iv. If you lose your balance, try again and encourage the participants to try
again
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Macaws are the largest flying parrots (can be over 3 feet
long)
b. Some macaws have lived over 100 years
c. They have been known to mimic human speech
w. Slowly move your arms back to your sides and your leg back down to the normal
standing position
x. Move to the spider monkey pose
i. Slowly squat down
ii. Rest your elbows on your knees and clasp your hands in front of your
stomach
iii. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Spider monkeys use all of their limbs (arms and legs) for
movement, including their tails
b. They do not have opposable thumbs like other monkeys
c. They hug spider monkeys from other groups (called troops)
to show their friendship
y. Slowly move into a comfortable sitting position
z. Move to the butterfly pose
i. Move to sit criss-cross applesauce, but instead of crossing your legs, have
your feet meet in the middle
ii. Clasp your hands around your feet
iii. Hold for 30 seconds

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 1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Some butterflies can fly up to 12 miles per hour
b. They cannot fly if their body temperature is below 86°F
c. Many butterflies taste with their feet, which helps them
figure out if a leaf is good to lay their eggs on
aa. Slowly return to a standing position
bb. Move to the flamingo pose
i. Bring your hands above your head and clasp them together
ii. Slowly lift one foot off the floor and slide that foot up along the inside of
your other leg
1. Make sure the kids do this slowly because it requires balance
iii. Hold for 30 seconds (or as long as you can)
iv. If you lose your balance, try again and encourage the participants to try
again
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Flamingos are born a white/gray color
b. Flamingos turn pink because of the shrimp they eat
c. Parents work together to make a nest out of mud for their
egg
cc. Slowly move your foot back to the floor and bring your arms down
dd. Move to the mouse pose (child’s pose)
i. Sit on the floor with your shins against the floor
ii. Lift your arms up and stretch them in front of you until your palms hit the
floor
iii. Lower your head close to the floor
iv. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. Mice have a collapsible ribcage, which helps them fit into
very small spaces
b. Their teeth never stop growing, so they chew on things to
wear them down
c. They groom themselves like cats, so they are cleaner than
people typically think
ee. Slowly lift your head and hands up and return to a standing position
ff. Move to the t-rex pose
i. Move into a lunge (move one leg behind you and stretch)
ii. Lift your arms up toward the sky and look up
iii. Hold for 30 seconds
1. Fun facts to talk about:
a. T-Rexes were alive 65 million years ago and lived in what is
now the United States and Canada
b. Their teeth were the size of bananas, and they had 50-60 in
their mouths
c. Scientists still do not know why they had such small arms

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gg. Slowly put your arms down and return to a comfortable standing position
hh. Tell everyone that was the last pose and thank them for participating
ii. Ask if anyone had a favorite pose that we tried
i. Let at least 4 or 5 kids answer if they raise their hands
jj. Ask if anyone felt a certain emotion while practicing the poses
i. Let at least 4 or 5 kids answer if they raise their hands
ii. Explain that people can feel many different emotions while doing activities
like yoga, but many people end up feeling calmer or less stressed
kk. Ask everyone to raise their hands if they felt calmer or less stressed while doing
the poses
i. Recognize that people felt the benefits of yoga
ll. Thank everyone for coming and tell them they will be going to the common room
to participate in the animal scavenger hunt (or the common room for the closing
ceremony if it is the last group)

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Starfish pose Elephant pose

Crocodile pose Narwhal pose

Peacock pose Dog pose

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Macaw pose Spider monkey pose

Flamingo pose
Butterfly pose

Mouse pose T-rex pose

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Sources:

“10 Terrifying T Rex Facts!” National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Society,
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/prehistoric-animals/t-rex-facts/.

AKC Staff. “30 Fun and Fascinating Dog Facts.” American Kennel Club, The American Kennel Club,
Inc., 19 Apr. 2021, https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/dog-facts/.

“Animal ABC Yoga for Kids.” From ABCs to ACTs, 4 Feb. 2019,
https://fromabcstoacts.com/animal-abc-yoga-for-kids/.

“Create Your Own Animal Yoga Pose.” Alaska 4-H, http://www.alaska4h.org/learn-by-doing-at-

home/create-your-own-animal-yoga-pose.

“Friday Fun Fact - 24 Fun Facts About Butterflies!” Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, 15 Nov. 2016,
https://australianbutterflies.com/facts-about-butterflies/.

“Fun Facts About Starfish.” National Marine Aquarium, https://www.national-

aquarium.co.uk/blog/fun-facts-about-starfish/.

Gaeng, Jennifer. “10 Incredible Crocodile Facts.” AZ Animals, 24 July 2022, https://a-z-
animals.com/blog/10-incredible-crocodile-facts/.

Gaeng, Jennifer. “10 Incredible Spider Monkey Facts.” AZ Animals, 23 Jan. 2023, https://a-z-
animals.com/blog/10-incredible-spider-monkey-facts/.

“Narwhal Facts and Pictures.” National Geographic Kids, National Geographic Society,
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/narwhal.

Nikaci, Volia. “10 Incredible Mouse Facts.” AZ Animals, 11 Oct. 2022, https://a-z-
animals.com/blog/10-incredible-mouse-facts/.

“Our Top 10 Facts About Elephants.” WWF, https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-

facts/elephants.

Sather, Patrick. “10 Incredible Macaw Facts.” AZ Animals, 16 July 2022, https://a-z-
animals.com/blog/10-incredible-macaw-facts/.

Smart, Jane. “8 Peacock Facts That Will Change How You See the Bird.” Brightly, 26 Aug. 2022,
https://brightly.eco/blog/peacock-facts.

“Tide Pool Animals Yoga Poses and Books.” Kids Yoga Stories, 19 Sept. 2018,
https://www.kidsyogastories.com/tide-pool-animals-

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 yoga/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest&utm_campaign=tailwind_smartloop&
utm_content=smartloop&utm_term=68331344.

“Why Are Flamingos Pink? and Other Flamingo Facts.” Smithsonian's National Zoo &
Conservation Biology Institute, 29 June 2021,
https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/why-are-flamingos-pink-and-other-flamingo-
facts.

“Yoga: What You Need To Know.” National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-
what-you-need-to-know.

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